List of cities in South Korea

The largest cities of South Korea have an autonomous status equivalent to that of provinces. Seoul, the largest city and capital, is classified as a teukbyeolsi, while the next six-largest cities are classified as gwangyeoksi. Smaller cities are classified as si and are under provincial jurisdiction, at the same level as counties.

City status

Article 10 of the Local Autonomy Act defines the standards under which a populated area may become a city: an area which is predominantly urbanised and has a population of at least 50,000; a which has an urbanised area with a population of at least 50,000; or a which has a total population of at least 150,000 and multiple urbanised areas each with a population of at least 20,000.
Under Article 3 of the Local Autonomy Act, a city with a population of less than 500,000 may create administrative subdivisions in the form of in its urbanised area and or in its rural area, while a city with a population of more than 500,000 may create administrative subdivisions in the form of non-autonomous.

Classifications for large municipal cities

The national government can designate cities of at least 500,000 inhabitants as special status cities. This status expands the scope of administrative authority delegated from the provincial government to the city government.

Big city

A big city is a city that has a population greater than 500,000, and has been designated by an order of the national government under Article 198 of the Local Autonomy Act. Big municipal cities are given the power to subdivide themselves into non-autonomous districts.
Due its legal status as an administrative city, Jeju City cannot be designated as a "big city" under the Local Autonomy Law, despite having an estimated population exceeding 500,000 as of 2022. The designation of "administrative city" was created by the law which granted special self-governing status to Jeju Province; that law specifically states that the Local Autonomy Act would not apply to administrative cities. As such, Jeju City does not enjoy special autonomy and only has the same legal powers as the much smaller Seogwipo. The administrative authority of Jeju City is trying to expand the scope of administrative authority delegated from the provincial government to the city government.

Special-status city

A special-status city is a subclass of big municipal city that has a population greater than 1,500,000.

List

; Notes

The name "Seoul" does not originate from hanja. The official Chinese translation is written as 首爾/首尔, which is a transcription based on the pronunciation of "Seoul" in Mandarin variant of Chinese language, and thus is not hanja of Korean language. In old Chinese documents, 漢城/汉城 was used. As an affix or abbreviation, the character gyeong, which means "capital", is used.
Seoul was designated a "Special Independent City" separate from Gyeonggi Province on August 16, 1946; it became a "Special City" on August 15, 1949.

rank	City	Hangul	Hanja	Province	Population	Area	Density	Founded
1	Andong			North Gyeongsang	168,226	1521.26	110.6	1963-01-01
2	Ansan			Gyeonggi	689,326	149.06	4624.5	1986-01-01
3	Anseong			Gyeonggi	182,784	553.47	330.3	1998-04-01
4	Anyang			Gyeonggi	598,392	58.46	10235.9	1973-07-01
5	Asan			South Chungcheong	303,043	542.15	559.0	1986-01-01
6	Boryeong			South Chungcheong	103,620	569.01	182.1	1986-01-01
7	Bucheon			Gyeonggi	851,245	53.40	15940.9	1973-07-01
8	Busan			City-cnone	3,496,779	765.94	4565.3	1963-01-01
9	Changwon			South Gyeongsang	1,063,116	736.34	1443.8	1980-04-01
10	Cheonan			South Chungcheong	619,286	636.22	973.4	1963-01-01
11	Cheongju			North Chungcheong	835,802	153.45	5446.7	1949-08-15
12	Chuncheon			Gangwon	280,565	1116.35	251.3	1949-08-15
13	Chungju			North Chungcheong	208,288	983.70	211.7	1956-07-08
14	Daegu			City-cnone	2,484,688	885.60	2805.7	1981-07-01
15	Daejeon			City-cnone	1,514,354	539.86	2805.1	1989-01-01
16	Dangjin			South Chungcheong	166,782	694.08	240.3	2012-01-01
17	Dongducheon			Gyeonggi	98,062	95.66	1025.1	1981-07-01
18	Donghae			Gangwon	93,289	180.17	517.8	1980-04-01
19	Gangneung			Gangwon	213,747	1040.07	205.5	1955-09-01
20	Geoje			South Gyeongsang	256,979	401.61	639.9	1989-01-01
21	Gimcheon			North Gyeongsang	142,277	1009.50	140.9	1949-08-14
22	Gimhae			South Gyeongsang	529,577	463.28	1143.1	1981-07-01
23	Gimje			North Jeolla	87,658	544.99	160.8	1989-01-01
24	Gimpo			Gyeonggi	364,808	276.64	1318.7	1998-04-01
25	Gongju			South Chungcheong	109,750	940.36	116.7	1986-01-01
26	Goyang			Gyeonggi	1,040,648	267.31	3893.0	1992-02-01
27	Gumi			North Gyeongsang	420,048	615.52	682.4	1978-02-15
28	Gunpo			Gyeonggi	284,735	36.36	7831.0	1989-01-01
29	Gunsan			North Jeolla	277,328	675.38	410.6	1949-08-15
30	Guri			Gyeonggi	194,298	33.30	5834.8	1986-01-01
31	Gwacheon			Gyeonggi	62,929	35.86	1754.9	1986-01-01
32	Gwangju			City-cnone	1,469,583	501.26	2931.8	1986-11-01
33	Gwangju			Gyeonggi	328,940	430.96	763.3	2001-03-21
34	Gwangmyeong			Gyeonggi	339,071	38.50	8807.0	1981-07-01
35	Gwangyang			South Jeolla	154,164	453.84	339.7	1989-01-01
36	Gyeongju			North Gyeongsang	259,228	1324.39	195.7	1955-09-01
37	Gyeongsan			North Gyeongsang	257,902	411.70	626.4	1989-01-01
38	Gyeryong			South Chungcheong	42,737	60.74	703.6	2003-09-19
39	Hanam			Gyeonggi	213,028	93.07	2288.9	1989-01-01
40	Hwaseong			Gyeonggi	644,498	687.54	937.4	2001-03-21
41	Icheon			Gyeonggi	210,565	531.09	396.5	1996-03-01
42	Iksan			North Jeolla	301,061	506.70	594.2	1949-08-15
43	Incheon			City-cnone	2,944,009	1032.41	2851.6	1981-07-01
44	Jecheon			North Chungcheong	136,389	883.09	154.4	1980-04-01
45	Jeongeup			North Jeolla	115,083	692.93	166.1	1981-07-01
46	Jeonju			North Jeolla	652,234	206.22	3162.8	1949-08-15
47	Jeju			Jeju	470,957	977.80	481.6	1955-09-01
48	Jinju			South Gyeongsang	347,056	712.62	487.0	1949-08-15
49	Naju			South Jeolla	105,080	172.8	608.15	1981-07-01
50	Namyangju			Gyeonggi	662,183	458.54	1444.1	1989-01-01
51	Namwon			North Jeolla	84,140	752.50	111.8	1981-07-01
52	Nonsan			South Chungcheong	123,094	554.85	221.9	1996-03-01
53	Miryang			South Gyeongsang	108,322	799.01	135.6	1989-01-01
54	Mokpo			South Jeolla	237,464	50.08	4741.7	1949-08-15
55	Mungyeong			North Gyeongsang	74,555	911.17	81.8	1986-01-01
56	Osan			Gyeonggi	208,873	42.76	4884.8	1989-01-01
57	Paju			Gyeonggi	431,035	672.57	640.9	1996-03-01
58	Pocheon			Gyeonggi	154,381	826.50	186.8	2003-10-19
59	Pohang			North Gyeongsang	516,497	1128.76	457.6	1949-08-14
60	Pyeongtaek			Gyeonggi	472,141	454.62	1038.5	1986-01-01
61	Sacheon			South Gyeongsang	114,854	398.25	288.4	1956-07-08
62	Sangju			North Gyeongsang	101,729	1254.83	81.1	1986-01-01
63	Samcheok			Gangwon	70,120	1185.86	59.1	1986-01-01
64	Sejong			City-bnone	244,939	465.23	526.5	2012-07-01
65	Seogwipo			Jeju	171,431	870.87	196.9	1981-07-01
66	Seongnam			Gyeonggi	974,755	141.82	6873.2	1973-07-01
67	Seosan			South Chungcheong	170,810	740.66	230.6	1989-01-01
68	Seoul			City-anone	9,930,478	605.27	16406.7	1946-08-16
69	Siheung			Gyeonggi	403,398	135.02	2987.7	1989-01-01
70	Sokcho			Gangwon	81,797	105.00	779.0	1963-01-01
71	Suncheon			South Jeolla	279,540	907.41	308.1	1949-08-14
72	Suwon			Gyeonggi	1,194,276	121.09	9862.7	1949-08-14
73	Taebaek			Gangwon	46,892	303.57	154.5	1981-07-01
74	Tongyeong			South Gyeongsang	138,001	238.85	577.8	1955-09-01
75	Uijeongbu			Gyeonggi	438,753	81.59	5377.5	1963-01-01
76	Uiwang			Gyeonggi	156,410	54.00	2896.5	1989-01-01
77	Ulsan			City-cnone	1,117,656	1057.50	1056.9	1997-07-15
78	Wonju			Gangwon	338,374	872.56	387.8	1955-09-01
79	Yangju			Gyeonggi	205,977	309.77	664.9	2003-10-19
80	Yangsan			South Gyeongsang	318,836	485.18	657.1	1996-03-01
81	Yeoju			Gyeonggi	111,558	608.64	183.3	2013-09-23
82	Yeongcheon			North Gyeongsang	100,384	920.29	109.1	1981-07-01
83	Yeongju			North Gyeongsang	109,281	669.05	163.3	1980-04-01
84	Yeosu			South Jeolla	288,818	501.27	576.2	1949-08-14
85	Yongin			Gyeonggi	991,622	591.36	1676.8	1996-03-01

Cities by population

This is a list cities of South Korea by population including provincial-level divisions: special city and metropolitan cities, and municipal-level division: cities. Other municipal-level divisions: counties and districts are not included. All population data are based on the South Korean population and housing census 2000–2020.

Claimed cities

City	Hangul	Hanja	Province	Founded
Cheongjin	청진시	淸津市	North Hamgyeong	1949-05-23
Gaeseong	개성시	開城市	Gyeonggi*	1949-05-23
Haeju	해주시	海州市	Hwanghae	1949-05-23
Hamheung	함흥시	咸興市	South Hamgyeong	1949-05-23
Heungnam	흥남시	興南市	South Hamgyeong	1949-05-23
Jinnampo	진남포시	鎭南浦市	South Pyeongan	1949-05-23
Najin	나진시	羅津市	North Hamgyeong	1949-05-23
Pyeongyang	평양시	平壤市	South Pyeongan	1949-05-23
Sariwon	사리원시	沙里院市	Hwanghae	1949-05-23
Seongjin	성진시	城津市	North Hamgyeong	1949-05-23
Sinuiju	신의주시	新義州市	North Pyeongan	1949-05-23
Songnim	송림시	松林市	Hwanghae	1949-05-23
Wonsan	원산시	元山市	South Hamgyeong	1949-05-23